How to Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet - PDF Download

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a beutiful prayer in the life of the Church. Below is a brief guide on the purpose of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, How to pray it, and a Divine Mercy Chaplet PDF Guide.

What is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy?

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a powerful intercessory prayer that is based on the message of Divine Mercy given to Sr. Faustina in the 1930s by Jesus Himself. The message of Divine Mercy is simple, yet so beautiful. It is that God loves us – all of us. He loves us so much that He wants us to recognize His mercy is greater than our sins. When we realize this, we’ll begin to call on Him with trust, humbly receive His mercy, and allow it to flow through us to others. St. Faustina recorded these revelations in her diary, which eventually began circulating, and sparked conversation and interest in this new devotion.

After decades of discernment, with the help of Pope St. John Paul II, the Vatican approved the message of Divine Mercy (since it was a private revelation), and St. Faustina’s writings have been published and distributed throughout the world. 

Why do Catholics have a special devotion to Christ’s mercy?

We know that Jesus is all-loving and merciful! Why have a specific devotion dedicated to this? The diary of St. Faustina’s dialogue with Jesus reveals that Jesus longs for us to continue spreading the message of His infinite, Divine Mercy. 

Jesus implores us to seek His mercy through this Chaplet, as He revealed to St. Faustina, documented in her diary: “Whoever will recite it [the Chaplet] will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy” (Diary of St. Faustina, 687). 

What do we use to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy?

Rosary beads! Conveniently, many devotions are based upon the structure of the Rosary. In addition to the physical beads, you can also keep track on your fingers, a Rosary card, Rosary bracelet, or Rosary ring. 

Similar to the Rosary, you can pray the Chaplet whenever you’d like. It typically takes between five and ten minutes, depending on whether you say it or sing it! There are many beautiful recordings on Youtube you can look up for a sung version. Ascension Presents also has a great video you can follow along with.

Since this devotion focuses on Christ’s Passion and mercy, individuals often pray the chaplet after receiving the Eucharist at Mass, as a novena during the nine days before the Feast of Mercy (first Sunday after Easter) as instructed by Jesus, or at 3 o’clock on Friday’s, remembering the hour of Christ’s Passion.

How to Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet

First section of beads on the Rosary

The first section of the Divine Mercy Chaplet is similar to the start of the Rosary. Download our Free Divine Mercy Chaplet PDF Guide to help. The order is as follows:

• Sign of the Cross
• Optional opening prayers (first bead):

Repeat three times: 

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

• One Our Father
• One Hail Mary
• The Apostles’ Creed

The Five Decades

When we pray the Rosary, each large bead represents an Our Father. However, in the Divine Mercy Chaplet, for each large bead at the beginning of the decade, pray:

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

Then, on each of the ten small beads (the beads representing Hail Mary’s on the Rosary) pray:

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Complete this pattern for each decade.

Closing Prayers

When all five decades have been completed, repeat the following prayer three times:

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (x3)

Optional closing prayer:

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Jesus I trust in You.

Conclude with the Sign of the Cross.

How can we live the Divine Mercy message? 

Praying the chaplet regularly for an outpouring of God’s mercy is a great way to deepen the devotion! With each bead that you pray, humbly ask that God envelop you in His infinite and unconditional love and mercy, and offer yourself to Him as a vessel of His mercy.

There are many other ways to deepen your devotion to the message of Divine Mercy. The entirety of St. Faustina’s diary is available and includes Jesus’ promises to those who pray this devotion. It can be an arduous read, so perhaps as you begin, read only Jesus’ bold lettering, and meditate on His words. 

Another way to direct our minds to the message is to set an alarm or reminder on your phone for 3pm every day, reminding us of the powerful words, “Jesus, I trust in You.” 

How to Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet - PDF Free Download

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